Flight
by Joyful-Sound
Summary: Jess and Nick may have a long road ahead in figuring out the roller-coaster dynamic that they call their relationship, but some alone time on the flight back from Chicago could certainly help them take that first step in realizing that where they're going may not be bad at all. A story that fills in the gap between "Chicago" and "First Date"


**It's way too late to offer any kind of explanation why, after two years, I am finally writing again. I blame school and work for my absence, on top of this thing that I _think_ resembles a social life. **

**But anyway, here's my take at a new fandom. I have loved the easy give-and-take that Nick and Jess have had since the very beginning of the show, but due to recent events, I feel like there are so many gaps to fill in, and my head can't take anymore scenarios without putting them down. Episodes like Chicago really need an hour to flesh out. So what did I do? I just wrote out how I think it could've ended. I at least hope I was able to keep the spark in this that I feel is evident when watching the show! **

**Like always, I own nothing. Hope you enjoy!  
**

**Edit (3/30/13): Fixed some spelling errors, among other things. For some odd reason, Word autocorrected 'Schmidt' to 'Schmit' and, because I proofread this at 2 AM, I didn't even catch it! Thanks to those who were kind enough to let me know! :] **

* * *

People. There were entirely too many people.

Jess leaned back against the airport window, abandoning the idea that she could still spot one of her roommates in such a crowd. Schmidt had left fifteen minutes ago when his and Nick's names had been called to the front desk of the terminal. Winston was off finding food.

Sighing, Jess took out the bag Bonnie had given her. She'd eaten most of it already, but there were still a few pieces left to remind her of Nick's mom's slight nod of approval.

It was quite a good feeling.

"Hey!" Winston appeared, carrying a small bag of French fries. "I thought you said you didn't have anything else to eat!"

Jess laughed, "I hardly call a few Cheetos sustainable."

"True," Winston agreed, offering her some of his food. Jess grabbed a few fries, and then looked up to see Schmit and Nick approaching. Even from twenty feet away, she could tell Schmidt was brooding.

"…and the _irresponsibility_ of these people! Nonsense in it's – "

"Not now, Schmidt," Nick replied flatly. "It's not the end of the world."

Jess looked at them, puzzled. "What's not the end of the world?"

"Oh, the airline overbooked," Nick shrugged, "so they're trying to put us on the next flight out and – "

"That is just completely _unacceptable_! I have work tomorrow!" Schmidt finished. Jess assumed he was still irritable from the restless night he had endured before the funeral.

Winston looked worried, also. It occurred to her that he, too, had a job that needed him back early. "When's the next flight out?"

Nick looked at his watch. "I believe the next one that they can put us on won't put us back in LA until around midnight."

Schmidt was about to start on another lecture, when Jess piped up.

"What if Schmidt takes my ticket, and I can wait until the next one? I don't have work until tomorrow afternoon anyway."

"Jess…" Nick began hesitantly.

"No, no," Winston interrupted. "That would work. We drove Schmidt's car to the airport. You two can take a taxi."

"See, this is perfect! Winston and I will be home in time for work tomorrow," Schmidt added.

Jess nodded. "And I don't mind, Nick."

Their eyes met for a split second, and it was almost like nobody else was there. The past two days had worn Nick down – she could see it his face. Jess had gained a much greater understanding for Nick's aversion to responsibility.

She smiled, almost like a reassurance that everything _would_ be okay, and Nick's expression softened.

"Alright," he sighed, glancing at Schmidt, "let's get you two switched out."

* * *

"So," Nick began, taking a seat next to Jess as the lobby cleared to board the plane, Schmidt and Winston included. "I really haven't had the chance to thank you for everything."

"You don't have to," she replied easily. "You would've done the same for me."

Her response caught Nick off guard. How much would he have done, had their roles been reversed? He would have liked his answer to be an automatic "anything," but after thinking of the initial welcome Jess had received by his family, he was almost certain he would've given up hope and left.

But Jess had stayed.

Nick just hoped that the reason why was more than just her helpful nature.

He shook these thoughts out of his head, realizing that the two of them had a long wait in the terminal for their flight, and it could get extremely uncomfortable if he let those thoughts slip out in the moment.

"Wanna play a board game?" Jess asked, cutting into the silence. She pulled out her phone.

"A board game without the board?" Nick teased. "Tempting."

"Shut up!" Jess laughed. "The board is on my phone, and I've got plenty of time-wasting activities saved on here from teaching…"

With that, Nick let Jess talk him into several rounds of poker (in which Jess was surprisingly good at), one game of checkers, Nick's best attempt at Scrabble to date, and finally, over their dinner of airport Chinese food, a very competitive game of Sorry!

"Oh come on Nick!" Jess pleaded after his player taken another piece, "I was so close to winning!"

"_Sorry_!" He said, before the two of them succumbed to laughter. A voice rang over the intercom, and their attention shifted to the relayed instructions.

Jess put her phone away and slung her bag over her shoulder. "You ready to go?" She asked.

Nick took a look around the airport, trying to soak up the last few minutes of being in his hometown, then looked at Jess. She had an odd tendency as of late to blur the lines of what he thought was home, and the thought that she was going with him was really all it took.

"I think I am."

* * *

Because he hadn't bothered to check their tickets before they boarded, Nick was unpleasantly surprised to find out that Jess was seated three rows back from him. He tried not to act even more disgruntled when a child, no more than six or seven, was helped into his seat by his mother.

"_I'm just a few rows over dear… you'll be okay, just don't cry like last time…"_

Jess had played the situation off, explaining that she expected that when they got stuck on a new flight. Still, she didn't do a very good job of hiding the disappointment in her voice.

But she was a big girl, and she could fly alone if she needed to.

She clicked her seatbelt into place, then dug through her purse in hopes of finding something that could entertain her for a few hours that didn't involve killing her phone's battery.

"Why hello there!" A young man, around her age, quite literally _plopped_ down in the seat next to her. "I'm Kevin, and I am happy to announce that I will be the seat buddy to a lovely lady in 17F."

Jess almost took out her ticket to make sure that she was, in fact, supposed to be seated in 17F. Her hand hesitated at her bag, but she shrugged it off. Maybe she'd at least have someone to talk to now.

"That's nice of you to say." She replied, smiling carefully. "It's nice to meet you, Kyle."

"Kevin," he corrected.

"Oh. Yeah, sorry." Jess stared at the tray in front of her. She didn't know exactly what to say to a complete stranger who seemed entirely too interested in her. Had she met this guy on a bus in LA, she would have at least responded more enthusiastically. But being in a different place, alone for the time being, changed matters. Closing her eyes, she decided she'd at least try to be nice to him.

"So what brought you to Chicago?" Kevin/Kyle asked.

"A funeral." There really was no way for her to make _that_ sound cheerful.

"Oh." It was Kevin's (Kyle's?) turn to be speechless. After a minute or so, his expression changed to understanding. "Was it with that guy up there?"

Jess looked up, barely catching Nick's eye before he promptly turned back around.

"Yeah, it was his dad," she admitted.

"Rough going," her sort-of acquaintance muttered. "I should've known you two were together, the way you were in line together. I'm sorry for jumping out at you like that – it's just not very often that you actually get sat next to a _good_ stranger on a plane."

Jess didn't bother to correct him. She liked the idea of this new boundary, and he seemed nice enough.

"It's alright," she smiled, watching the last wave of passengers enter the plane. "I know what you mean. With my luck, I'd get a screaming child separated from its parents by an entire row." She glanced at Nick.

This he seemed to understand.

"You know what," he said suddenly, standing from his seat, "if you'll excuse me for a second, I think I can help fix things."

Confused, Jess let him walk away, and then shrugged it off.

Just a minute later, a new figure slid in next to her. And her heart nearly skipped a beat.

"So did you seriously just flirt with a guy so you could sit next to me?" Nick said, his eyes showing more of a smile than Jess had seen in two days.

"Um, first off," Jess waved her finger in front of him, "I did not _flirt_ with him, because for your information, he kind of thinks we're together."

Looking towards Nick's old seat, she waved at its new occupant. She couldn't begin to thank him enough.

"Oh really now?" Nick raised his eyebrows, pulling Jess's attention back. His pulse even picked up a bit at her stare. "How did you convince him of that?"

She rolled her eyes. "Didn't take much convincing with you spying from up there."

"I was not _spying_!" He said, a little too loudly. The safety video was playing overhead, and the flight attendant at the front scowled at him, along with several nearby passengers. Quieter, he clarified, "I was concerned you were being bombarded by an overexcited college kid."

"His name is Kyle," Jess replied smoothly. "Or, uh, Kevin? Yeah, definitely Kevin. And he's definitely not in college."

"Whatever you say, Jess," he teased.

She swatted his arm. "First I get mistaken for an immigrant by your mother, now I'm getting accused of flirting with a college guy! What is with you Millers this week?"

Nick's expression hardened. "You know my mom didn't mean that. And I really am sorry for the way they treated you."

Jess looked at him and smiled weakly, holding up the bag of Cheetos his mom had given her. "Don't worry about it. It all worked out in the end, right?"

A man behind the two of them cleared his throat, and from the looks that they were getting from those nearby, the pair recognized that they should probably be quiet until they took off.

Their abrupt pause left Nick hanging on Jess's words – had it really all worked out? He hadn't really considered this trip a success, for whatever it was worth. But maybe Bobby had been onto something…

_Nick watched his friends file out of the living room, heading upstairs where they were sharing the one guest bedroom left in his mother's house. Jamie had fled to his girlfriend's house, leaving only a very tired Nick and an all-too-aware Bobby on the couches. _

"_Bringing a girl home for a trial run during a funeral? Classic. Your dad would've approved." Bobby said as soon as the voices upstairs faded behind doors. _

"_What are you talking about?" Nick looked at him, wide-eyed. "What the hell is a 'trial run?'"_

_Bobby's smiled broadened, "It's when a guy brings home a girl, with no strings attached, to see if she'd fit in with the family. And you, man, chose right…"_

"_I think you've got it a little confused," Nick shook his head. "Jess came to help. She's my roommate. And I wouldn't bring a girl home to meet my family during something like this. We just - "_

"_But see," Bobby interrupted, "this is much better than a regular visit. Because just any random visit would imply that strings are most certainly attached. And weddings usually have the romance factor that you, cousin, are not very good at."_

"_I wouldn't bring a girl home with me to meet my family on the day of my dad's funeral." Nick muttered grimly. _

"_Fine, whatever," Bobby waved his hands. "It's not a trial run. But answer this – how good of a kisser is she?"_

"_It's not like that!" He replied, a little too quickly. His cousin smirked again. _

_Wordlessly, Nick got up with full intention to storm off into his old bedroom, until something inside him stirred. Before he could think about the consequences, he turned and faced Bobby. _

"_And she is a _fantastic_ kisser."_

_Without a backwards glance, he spun on his heels and left. _

Nick hadn't admitted to anyone but Bobby that he thought of Jess like that. Not even Schmidt. The fact that he could confess his feelings at all, and to his annoying younger cousin at that, was a feat.

The plane began to taxi, and Nick let his fingers brush Jess's. The stupid videos were finally over.

She turned and smiled at him, sure that anybody nearby could hear her heart hammering in her chest. He yawned, breaking the tension.

"I think this weekend wore me out." He settled back into his seat, the plane starting to gain momentum.

"Me too," Jess reciprocated with a yawn. Hesitantly, she leaned her shoulders against his. When she felts his muscles relax, she lowered her head onto his shoulder, but at an angle that wasn't terrible intimate. Closing her eyes, she reasoned that she could rest for awhile. It was already evening, even back in LA. And after an entire day of sitting in a crowded airport, she deserved a nap…

What seemed like only a few minutes later, Nick shook her gently awake.

"You want anything to drink?"

She opened her eyes, first focusing in on Nick, before realizing that there was a flight attendant waiting for her reply.

"Water?" She answered, not particularly thirsty, but answering now to avoid being asked later. There was a definite crick in her neck.

The woman handed her a bottle, and then pulled a blanket from the bottom of her cart. Nick took it and spread it out between the two of them while Jess sipped on her water.

"Sorry," she began.

"For what?" Nick took a sip of his own drink.

"Falling asleep on you," Jess admitted, although she wasn't really _that_ sorry.

"Did you have a good nap, at least?" He asked.

She laughed, and then nodded. "It just wasn't long enough."

"Then go back to sleep! We've still got two hours." Nick reasoned, taking part of the blanket and stretching out his arm, offering her a prime spot to sleep. She took it gratefully, cozying into the crook of his neck. His arm settled around her back, his touch surely sending goosebumps shooting across her skin.

She relaxed into him, his chest rising and falling with steady breaths. Carefully, he let his cheek rest on the top of her head. He had an overwhelming urge to kiss the top of her head before they fell asleep, but instead he let the thought of doing such an act fill his head before drifting off.

* * *

The plane began it's descent into LA, what Nick thought, was both too long and too short of a time. It was definitely too long because it was almost 1 AM and he was dead tired. On the other hand, it was much too short because he had to let go of the moment with Jess in order to go home.

They said very little to each other in the time it took the plane to reach the gate, too tired to even attempt conversation.

"Do you want me to get your bag?" Nick offered, watching Jess struggle with the suitcase she carried on.

"I'm fine," she mumbled, stifling another yawn.

Nick laughed, taking the bag from her anyway. It was easier to him to bounce back this time of night, especially if he had something to do. After all, he was a bartender. These were the hours where he made the most.

They pushed their way through the crowd at the gate, Nick leading the way outside. Lucky for them, this time of night granted a few open taxis. Nick waved down a driver, letting Jess rattle off their address while he loaded the bags in the back.

They wordlessly piled into the taxi. Jess grabbed a hair tie from her purse and began pulling her hair back.

"Ugh, I bet I looked like Cousin It back there," she muttered, still trying to coax curls behind her ear.

He shrugged. "I've seen worse."

Jess wrinkled her nose. "Yeah, I forgot, your first impression of me was immediately post-Spencer."

"Not what I meant," he smiled, "but I know what you mean. You saw me through Caroline."

"We should start a club," she mused tiredly. "The 'My Ex Turns Me Into A Blubbering Idiot' Society. It's got a nice ring to it."

"Yeah, but let's decide on a name when we're not jetlagged and sleepless." It was Nick's turn to yawn.

"Deal," Jess finished, closing her eyes and leaning her head against the seat.

The rest of the ride home was quiet, and just as Jess was about to fall into the depths of dreaming, the cab slowed to a stop.

She dug out her change for the meter while Nick unloaded the bags. Luckily, she had just enough money left over from lunch to avoid having to pay the rest in quarters.

Jess tried to take her suitcase when they began their walk to the building, but Nick stopped her.

"I got it," he assured, letting her tired form go upstairs on autopilot.

When they reached the door to the loft, Jess opened the door and took her suitcase from Nick. She sat it down in her room, before meeting him in the hallway. He was standing against his doorframe, watching her approach.

"Nick," she said softly, "I really am sorry about your dad."

He nodded in understanding. "Thanks Jess. I think I'm gonna be okay."

"Are you?" She pressed. Nick stepped a little closer, putting a hand on her shoulder.

"Thanks to you, I will be."

She closed her eyes… That was all the convincing she needed. His hand moved to the back of her neck. He leaned in slowly and, unwilling to take advantage of her tired state, placed a gentle kiss on her forehead.

She remained there for a moment, soaking in the emotion poured into their embrace. They had a long way to go in whatever they were doing, and still had a lot of things to consider, but those all could come later.

Right now, in the moment, she was okay with ending tonight like that.

Nick let go, and she turned to walk back to her own bedroom. When she reached the door, she paused and looked over her shoulder. "Goodnight, Nick."

Nick leaned back against his doorframe, truly relaxed for the first time in days. "'Night Jess."

* * *

**Well, there ya have it! All constructive criticism is welcome, I did this beta-free and in between studying, so I am sure I have some mistakes floating around. **

**Until next time, thanks for reading!  
**


End file.
